Pentagon removes protections for civilian workers, orders swift firings

The Pentagon has pulled key protections for its civilian workers and instructed managers to move with “speed and conviction” to fire underperforming workers, according to a memo issued last month.

The guidelines were issued on Sept. 30, just one day before the government shutdown, in a memo titled “Separation of Employees with Unacceptable Performance” to eliminate workers with “unacceptable” performance reviews.

“Supervisors and human resources (HR) professionals are directed to act with speed and conviction to facilitate the separation from Federal service of employees performing unsuccessfully,” reads the memo signed by Under Secretary of Defense Anthony Tata, the Pentagon’s top personnel policy officer.

The memo also states that managers will be held accountable for not addressing “poor employee performance.”

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The Pentagon has pulled key protections for its civilian workers and instructed managers to move with “speed and conviction” to fire underperforming workers. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Some managers fear that the guidelines are too broad to where they could be used to fire anyone who does not support the Trump administration’s programs, according to The Washington Post.

It is unclear how many employees have been fired since the memo was issued last month.

“The Department is in the process of adapting to the new guidance outlined in Under Secretary of War Tata’s memo from September 30th and we have nothing specific to share at this time,” the Pentagon said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Nearly half of the Defense civilian workforce have been furloughed during the ongoing shutdown. The administration attempted to fire thousands of furloughed employees earlier this month, but the effort was blocked by a federal court.

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The memo states that managers will be held accountable for not addressing “poor employee performance.” (Reuters)

The civilian firings are part of a larger effort by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to eliminate the “debris” he purports is standing in the way of his mission to carry out Trump’s agenda.

“The sooner we have the right people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. Personnel is policy,” Hegseth said last month during a speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

The memo makes it easier for managers to fire Defense civilian workers, creating additional subjectivity for job performance evaluations.

Managers are directed to cite criteria used in federal job evaluations known as Douglas Factors, but each factor in the new memo added language that could impact some of those considerations.

Some managers fear that the guidelines are too broad to where they could be used to fire anyone who does not support the Trump administration’s programs. (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)

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“Every DoW position supports the mission, so deficiencies in any role can warrant strong action,” the memo reads under the Douglas Factor section that involves an employee’s roles and responsibilities.

The factors allow managers “flexibility to address performance issues swiftly and effectively,” according to the memo.

“This approach empowers supervisors to act decisively when performance undermines DoW’s objectives, reinforcing a culture of excellence. Supervisors are to use the Douglas Factors in consideration of their action,” the memo added.